OpenAI Goes After Search With New GPT Features

OpenAI is testing a prototype of new artificial intelligence (AI) search features that may later be integrated into its chatbot, ChatGPT.

Dubbed SearchGPT, the prototype is being launched to a small group of users and publishers. After receiving their feedback, OpenAI plans to integrate the best features into ChatGPT, the company said in a Thursday (July 25) press release.

OpenAI said in the release that the prototype is “designed to combine the strength of our AI models with information from the web to give you fast and timely answers with clear and relevant sources.”

“Getting answers on the web can take a lot of effort, often requiring multiple attempts to get relevant results,” the company said in the release. “We believe that by enhancing the conversational capabilities of our models with real-time information from the web, finding what you’re looking for can be faster and easier.”

The company added that SearchGPT will respond to questions quickly and directly, provide up-to-date information from the web, and supply links to relevant sources.

It will also enable the user to ask follow-up questions and will build shared context with each of the user’s queries, according to the release.

OpenAI is partnering with publishers and creators on this offering, saying that it aims to help users discover publishers’ sites and experiences by prominently citing and linking to them in searches.

The company is also launching a way for publishers to manage how they appear in SearchGPT and is sharing with publishers its findings about how they can best engage with AI search products.

“For decades, search has been a foundational way for publishers and creators to reach users,” the company said in the release. “Now, we’re using AI to enhance this experience by highlighting high quality content in a conversational interface with multiple opportunities for users to engage.”

This announcement comes at a time when companies are looking to the latest AI offerings to improve search or to offer alternatives to existing search engines.

PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster wrote in November 2023 that Google has used AI since 2001 to improve search and expanded its AI focus in 2017 with the launch of the Google AI division focused on, among other things, innovating the use of large language models and the massive data set that is Google search.

In January, AI-powered search engine startup Perplexity announced a Series B funding round valuing it at $520 million. Notably, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos participated in the round.